The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-08-11

Y
GUIDES
q mile. and DO. you have entered a new cline
and d new portion Of the globe. a voyage
toGreenland. orto Africa. or China. could NOT
cTeet n more complete transformation. ltisa
,itv. ol.o. that 100000 persons cannot enter
nis marvellous place each year, instead OF
n,.do0Oor5. 600 who now visit it, There are
in,nroveneufs TO Doe male too. and for this
,.,,,.,,o.e Government should purchase the cav
cru and 40 DO for the reception of the huiu-
tuJe The present owners are % hoi oolen
boirsof one Jessup THE estate smannged Tor
Them bv an agent 1ho earnings are no more
/ than $40 Olla year. and ont of this guides ami
+ fbeir expenses must Dee paid. There is nothing
I.ft with which to make anything more than
fine imperative repairs Pullman, the sleeping
car magnate. once made ON effort to buy the
cave but the property is under court CONTROL
and cannot Doe sold until some of the heirs hc
come of age
There is but one entrance o. The cave
Others could doubles be found lay earnest
search from within. but the owners take good
c4r. that no such search shall bcmade They
forbid the use of surveying instruments n
the cavern and discourage exploration DIS
coveiv Of another entrance might break the
monopoly which they now hold upon TINS
matches natural curiosity, though t'poiect
their possession they have purchased several
thousand acres Of land, presumably covering
tine cave. Titletoreal estate, 10 appears, carries
ones fee tothc conterof the earth, and d. 10y
tho Use of surveying instruments some neigh
to,.ino farmer could establish Tine fact that
nortions Of the cave are under his mni, he
would have a legal right 90 "a share of the
tolls collected from sight,cers
This greatest of holes u the ground BIAS 200
miles of explored avenues and passages. How
much farther it extends mo- one knows, but ID
is nrobable that earnest efforts would extend
the hundreds nat thousands. This whole
country side is filled with caves lh lhi,
Flnund,om county alone two hundred
have been discovered Some OF these
oavos are nearly as largo and quite
NJ beautiful as Mammoth cave, bnt tho repu-
tatou of the giant overshado"s them a'i' ana
mo- ono thinks of visiting any of the lesser
marvels. Doubtless many or all OF these
cavcrns are connected by hidden passages
though it is matter Of neighborhooI gossip
that certain avenues have been closed iy The
Mammoth cave manager and explorers OK
cirdad from Them. presumably through fear
of unvel.ome discoveries THE ponletor
of Mammoth cave value their underground
CITY at s250O0O. and 10 could be readily sold
for tina. sum.
Mammoth cave has never been popular
resort. Hitherto it has been exceedingly
difficult OF access. The railroad ran DO
nearer than ten miles and the stage ride wa.
over rough country. making il both tediou.
and expensive Before the war southern
planters came here In large numbers. and
sourbt relief from summers heat m thl
bowels of the earth Everything here Is
essentially southern. The landlord at tho
hotel is ANYTHING bat a successful Bontace
while m, wife is "a beauty, too proud 90 visit
the kitchen. The cooks are without accom-
plshmcnts, and never gained as much as an
inkling of the proper method of broillng
steal, on brewing coffee They do know, how
ever. how To serve pie and bot biscuit io
breakfast The hotel itself is southern. 1t d.
merely a series of log or rough frame sheds
built one after another I'm the form of an l.
facinc pretty park The main portion
of tine house was built as long ago %
ISIS. and iu thc biz ball room over the dimn,
hall Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson danced
i'm their youth. The old inn is picturesque j
not comfortable: and each arriving guest Oh
making the inevitable query, "Nhere is ih
cavcT j, told That "a section az the erea
cavern is right underneath him as Dee sit
struggling with piece of Texas steer, fried
The STAGE coach la, at last disappeared, au
n new railroad runs almost % tine very mout
of the cavern. II isa crooked railway, ran
ming uD hin anu down aul around bills, VIII
Grade, which make Observing pas-engo.
dizzy and locomotive, tired One engine cal
rull lnt % couple of ears. and then often at
snails pace This ride alone is worth Oh
price Of admission, especially II You stand o
theplatform behind "a coiorednative ana hav
the interesting objects pointed out to you
One-half the farmers along here thi, yo.u
BE black man Will tell you, have cave, o
their premises which they are too lazy o. as
plore. though many of them uss The mouth
of their caverns for st0rehouscs for meat
and milk.
But what has become of our party oi "a
plorors, whom w. left just as they bad Doe
gun 20 snif the oxygen and la,nom thc my
tories Of life underground They are still oi
their tramp-sQue,zIng their hodie, through
Fat Mans Misery, listening 90 the reycrDela
tOns and marvolng az the strange scenes %
Echo river, gazing feariully into thc Bot
tonless Pit, painting and perspiring through
the rugged Corkscrew, eating their lunch Ten
miles from daylight, OF looking at the twink
, ling of chemical stars i'm a armament whic
is hundred, OF feet below the surface OF ia
earth Their waudcrngs amidst wonders
their study of nature when surrounded h.
her, their thoughts when i'm the very pre- enc
Of the mighty and eternal forces which open
, ate within earth, / must follow in anOthe
, ! letter WALTER WELIMAS